Greed and government mismanagement had implications.
One of the joys about traveling around Newfoundland while working on Arn? Narn. was learning about their culture, more specifically their music. One of my favorite groups then and now is Great Big Sea. I defy anyone to sit still while listening to their music and if you get the opportunity to attend their concerts, […]
Read More Words of wisdom from Alan Doyle and Russell Crowe.Nine years ago today, I was purchasing gear and planning for my first trip to Newfoundland. Little did I know how transforming a journey it would become. I would be leaving in just four months for this then new adventure. And that adventure has continued nine years later. How was I to know what effect […]
Read More All things considered, I’d rather be in St. John’s.(Warning: content addresses adult themes – not really – and no bad photos.) It’s not like that all. We are still together and in love with each other, still! But for the previous three years, I’d been carrying on an affair, right out in the open, thank you very much, and I was still happily […]
Read More Menage a Wha?As I wrote earlier, when we were sitting in the airport, my lovely bride happened upon a postcard for a perfectly wonderful B&B. And as I wrote, I through my infinite wisdom had booked us for three nights in this wonderful place. Am I good or what? We are now on our way to this […]
Read More In which I get it right.All the good stuff that goes into conceiving a child is great. It’s the fodder of legends, songs, stories, movies, and art. And it only takes nine months. Then the hard work begins, years of being a parent which never really end even when they’re grown and move out. Nine months to the start and […]
Read More A baby takes nine months; a book – maybe nine years!After the initial concussion of our cottage by the bay, Carla and I are acting like we live there. We could do this – downsize and do it here. We don’t need all: the clothes, furniture, tchotchkes, appliances, whatever that we have. This is life simplified. This is life without pretense, life without malls, life […]
Read More Watching the fog roll around and drinking wine.We make our plans to head once more into the… yeah, right. Rested, fed, and eager to get going, we head out of St. John’s to the Burin Peninsula. This is the only place we go that I haven’t been to, so it will be a new adventure for me as well. This will take […]
Read More Once more into the breach dear friends, once more!After our momentous arrival in St. John’s, daylight has finally arrived and we leave the hotel, but not before tipping generously the still on-duty, unbelievably helpful concierge. We grab a taxi and head over to the airport. It is still a bit too early as the car rental counters aren’t open yet, so we just […]
Read More Hi Ho all over again…Part 2In the estimation of my wife, I had become obsessed with Newfoundland. Yeah, alright, it’s true. (Could an intervention be far behind?) The two trips up there had been transformative experiences for me. Now that she had seen what I had seen, she wanted to go there. Who was I to argue? Planning the trip […]
Read More Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to… (with apologies to Snow White and her minions, not to mention Steve McQueen).After escaping the clutches of the bi-churchal minister, I am now on solid ground once again, figuratively speaking, and heading back to St. John’s. I heard of a short cut that will take two hours off my impending twelve+ hour drive. Should I take it? I’ve been warned that it is not a particularly well […]
Read More Whoa, there’s a moose, and another, and finally St. John’s!When traveling, one of the best ways to get the feel, the flavor, and the social climate of a new locale is to visit the local watering hole. And on Ramea. the best one is Red’s Lounge. Red’s being the best bar/lounge is not only my opinion, it’s also the opinion of all the locals […]
Read More Kicking back at Red’s Lounge, meeting the locals, being told where to go (in the nicest way possible, this is Newfoundland after all), and having my first beer in Ramea. Part 1.With all apologies to the bard (Ramea, O’ Ramea, where art thou O’ Ramea?), Ramea is a small island off the southern coast of Newfoundland and I arrived safely on the good ship (well, ferry) Gallipoli. For those who may be history minded, Gallipoli is the name of a horrible battle in World War I […]
Read More Abducted by sea turtles AND the talk of the town.Burgeo, on the southern coast. (From Sailblogs.) Made it to Burgeo after a gruesomely long drive. The good news is that where I was off to next to photograph was a very small island, Ramea, on which I would be walking almost everywhere. The bad new is that when I got back to Newfoundland proper, […]
Read More Look boss, the plane, the plane! No, Tattoo, that’s a boat!Now that I’d returned to the mainland which is Newfoundland proper, I was to head to the southern coast of Newfoundland to catch another ferry to another island. Yeah, yeah, I know… (Courtesy Terry’s Bayside Getaway) But, I had a lot a traveling to do in front of me. First south, then west, then southeast, […]
Read More Me and Homer….no, not Simpson!Now, I’m not going to say I was feeling Like Leonardo in the movie. Nor was there, regrettably, a counterpart to Kate Winslet standing bravely by my side either. But, I was on a boat in the seas off Newfoundland and there was a lot of ice in the water. And it was in early […]
Read More Bartender to me – “Would you like that on the rocks?” Not funny.It is a stereotype that Canadians are among the friendliest and politest people on the planet. But, as a stereotype, that tends to put everything into a one-size-fits-all category. The truth of the matter is that Canadians ARE some of the friendliest and politest people around, bar none. Funny, too. Great music also. I could […]
Read More No, no, no… please, I insist, after you.As I’ve written earlier, traveling by car in Newfoundland is quite different from the US. I learned earlier that there is a proclivity for really unique types of chips on that road. (See the “You want chips with that?” post from November, 2011.) I also learned that one won’t find coffee easily while traveling on […]
Read More Inconvenience store.                                                    From a more hopeful time. Pardon the silliness of the title, but I’ll be off to Fogo Island on the north coast of Newfoundland. It, after arriving in St. John’s, will be the first stop in my second […]
Read More I go, you go, Fogo!Yup, I was going back to Newfoundland. Was I upset by this? Hell, no. I couldn’t wait and this time it was to be for three whole weeks, not two as in the previous year. And my passport was still current. While I had to do a lot of research and planning for the first […]
Read More Passport, please.At this point, I’d been on the not-so-tropical island of Newfoundland photographing for nearly two weeks and traveling well-over 3,500 miles while doing so. Yet, laying underneath in the psychic morass known as my mind was the small, festering question as to whether or not I had achieved that for which I had come. If […]
Read More What I really, really wanted…If you’re a bicyclist, you know that in a match-up of rider vs. car, the car always wins. However, in the Newfoundland game of anything vs. moose, the moose almost always wins. These things are (sorry, Mr. Trump) HUGE! At the shoulder they are 6-7 feet high. Add the neck, head, and antlers, and well, […]
Read More Moose vs. WorldOne of the small pleasures in traveling is watching local television. Usually it’s some buffoonish weatherman trying out material for his audition reel. Other times it can be just the silliness of a marble-mouthed reporter unable to pronounce the name of a perp or a foreign town. That said, I’ve nothing to say about Newfoundland […]
Read More “We’re not fulltime stupid.” Really?Scene from “The Shipping News” There are those who believe that close proximity to fame will allow that very same fame to rub off on them. About all that accrues from these multiple degrees of separation is that one could say so-and-so slept here and well, so did they. What else could explain the countless […]
Read More Kevin Spacey slept here.Newfoundland is not like anywhere else. That’s a good thing. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it’s big – 41,000 square miles of cod-loving goodness. And traveling around the province in the small outports, one can get a real flavor for the island. But try and get something to eat and you’ll find the […]
Read More You want chips with that?If you’re a bird watcher, this is for you. If not, maybe the snarky comments will hold your interest. Cape St. Mary’s is in the part of Newfoundland, located on the southern tip of the southwestern arm of the Avalon Peninsula, known as the Irish Loop. It plays host to the second largest northern gannet […]
Read More 50,000+ Tickleasses and watching your step.The day has come and I’m heading north, way north – in the winter no less! For that I grew a full beard and mustache (which in a complete surprise to me my wife loved!) in anticipation of the cold I was certain to experience while outside photographing. It turned out to be a good […]
Read More He’s leaving home, bye, bye. Welcome home.Good question…especially if you’re going to Newfoundland. I had always been under the impression (wrongly it seems) that time zones were in one hour increments. Consequently, I initially had a difficult time reconciling what time it was at home and what time it was in Newfoundland. What I was calculating in time differences was just […]
Read More Does anybody really know what time it is? (Does anybody really care?) – Thanks to Chicago.Well, you can get there from here but it was going to take a circuitous route to accomplish it. One can drive there if in a questionable state of mind. Get on the highway east through the South, north into the mid-Atlantic states up to New England and then to Nova Scotia. Once there, an […]
Read More Really… you can’t get there from here and if you could…when?Everyone knows travel has become increasingly difficult. I wouldn’t be surprised that if before long, you’ll have to stand before a painted silhouette of a person to make sure you’re tall enough to board your flight. The logistics of traveling with a large amount of photographic equipment presented its own unique issues. It’s not a […]
Read More Oh no! My shoes don’t match the bag!There is absolutely no shortage of places to stay (in addition to the side of the road as mentioned in the previous entry) while in Newfoundland. The names of these places oftentimes reflect the Newfoundland culture and history. Try these on: the Exploits Motel (fill in your own blanks here); House on the Tickle; At […]
Read More Henrietta’s Hospitality Home, Betty’s Patch, and not a Motel 6 to be found and that’s not a bad thing.
Arn? Narn. 